Developmental Psychology

Ch1,2,3

Psychoanalytic Theories

Contributions include an emphasis on a developmental framework,

family relationships, and unconscious aspects of the mind.

Criticisms of psychoanalytic theories:

• Lack of scientific support.

• Too much emphasis on sexual underpinnings.

• An image of people that is too negative

Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental theory

children go through four stages of cognitive

development as they actively construct their understanding of the

world.

• Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years of age).

• Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years of age).

• Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years of age).

• Formal operational stage (11 years of age through adulthood).

Two processes underlie this: organization and adaptation.

Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2yrs

The infant constructs an

understanding of the world

by coordinating sensory

experiences with physical

actions.

An infant progresses from

reflexive, instinctual action at

birth to the beginning of

symbolic thought toward the

end of the stage.

Preoperational Stage, 2 to 7yrs

The child begins to

represent the world with

words and images. These

reflect increased symbolic

thinking and go beyond the

connection of sensory in

formation and physical action.

Concrete Operational Stage: 7yr - 11yrs

The child can now

reason logically about

concrete events and

classify objects into

different sets.

Formal Operational Stage: 11yrs - adulthood

The adolescent

reasons in more

abstract, idealistic,

and logical ways.

Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory

emphasizes how culture and social

interaction guide and are inseparable from cognitive

development.

Information-processing theory

emphasizes that individuals

manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it.

• Central to this theory are the processes of memory and thinking

Cognitive Theories

Contributions include:

• A positive view of development.

• An emphasis on the active construction of understanding.

Criticisms of cognitive theories:

• Skepticism about the pureness of Piaget’s stages.

• Inadequate attention to individual variations.

Skinners operant conditioning

Development consists of the pattern of behavioral changes

brought about by rewards and punishments.

Banduras social cognitive theory

Emphasizes behavior, environment, and cognition as the key

factors in development.

• Relations between behavior, person/cognitive, and

environmental factors are reciprocal.

• Using forethought, individuals guide and motivate themselves

by creating action plans, formulating goals, and visualizing

positive outcomes of their actions.

Behavior and social cognitive theories

valuating behavioral and social cognitive theories:

Contributions include an emphasis on scientific research and

environmental as determinants of behavior.

Criticisms:

• Little emphasis on cognition in Skinner’s theory.

• Inadequate attention paid to developmental changes.

Ethology

stresses that behavior is strongly influenced by biology,

is tied to evolution, and is characterized by experiences during

critical or sensitive periods.

Konrad Lorenzs Ethological theory

helped bring ethology to prominence by showing

the developmental importance of the imprinting behavior of geese.

John Bowlby Ethological theory

determined that attachment to a caregiver over the

first year of life has important consequences for optimal social

relationship development throughout the life span.

critical period

a certain, very early point at which imprinting

must take place.

sensitive period

the time attachment should optimally occur.

Ethological Theory

Contributions of ethological theory include:

• A focus on the biological and evolutionary basis of development.

• The use of careful observations in naturalistic settings.

Criticisms:

• Too much emphasis on biological foundations.

• The critical and sensitive period concepts might be too rigid.

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory

development reflects the

influence of five environmental systems.

Microsystem

setting in which the individual lives and helps to

construct.

Mesosystem

the relations between microsystems or connections

between contexts.

Exosystems

links between a social setting in which the individual has a

passive role and their immediate context.

Macrosystem

the culture in which individuals live.

Chronosystem

the patterning the environmental events and transitions

over the life course.

Ecological Theory

Contributions of ecological theory include:

• The systematic examination of macro and micro dimensions of

environmental systems.

• Attention to connections between environmental systems.

• An emphasis on a range of social contexts besides family that

influence a child’s development.

Criticisms:

• Inadequate attention to biological factors.

• Too little emphasis on cognitive factors.

Eclectic theoretical orientation

An eclectic theoretical orientation does not follow any one

theoretical approach.

• Selects from each theory whatever is considered its best

features.

• Allows for seeing the study of development as it actually exists.

• For example, different theorists making different assumptions,

stressing different empirical problems, and discovering

information using different strategies

Descriptive Research

a research method designed to observe

and record behavior.

Correlational research

attempts to determine the strength of the

relationship between two or more events or characteristics.

Correlation Coefficient

a number based on statistical analysis

that is used to describe the degree of association between two

variables.

• Ranges from −1.00 to +1.00.

• The higher the correlation coefficient (whether positive or

negative), the stronger the association between the two

variables.

• Correlation does not equal causation.

Experiment

a carefully regulated procedure in which one or more

of the factors believed to influence the behavior being studied are

manipulated while all other factors are held constant.

Independent Variable

manipulated, influential,

experimental factor that is a potential cause

dependent

factor that can change in response

to changes in the independent variable.

Control Group

comparison group that serves as a

baseline

Random Assignment

important principle in experimental

research.

• Participants are assigned to experimental and control groups by

chance.

Cross-sectional approach

a research strategy that compares

individuals of different ages simultaneously.

Longitudinal Approach

a research strategy where the same

individuals are studied over a period of time, usually several

years or more.

cohort effects

characteristics determined by a person’s time

of birth, era, or generation rather than the person’s actual age

Informed Consent

participants must know what their

participation will involve and must be able to withdraw at will.

Confidentiality

data must be kept confidential and, when

possible, anonymous.

Debriefing

after the study, participants should be informed of its

purpose and methods.

Deception

when necessary, deception may be used, but the

psychologist must ensure it will not harm the participants and

that the participants will be debriefed

Gender Bias

Conclusions are often drawn about females’ attitudes and

behaviors from research conducted with males as the only

research study participants.

Ethnic Gloss

Life-span development research has not always included

individuals from diverse ethnic groups.

• superficial use of an ethnic label that portrays an

ethnic group as being more homogeneous than it really is.

Natural Selection

an evolutionary process by which individuals

of a species that are best adapted are the ones that survive and

leave the most fit offspring.

Adaptive Behavior

behavior that promotes an organism’s

survival in the natural habitat, because an organism possesses

characteristics needed for survival.

Evolutionary Psychology

emphasizes the importance of

adaptation and reproduction to ensure survival.

• Offspring that adapts, develops behaviors, and possesses

self-protective traits survive.

Interest has grown in using the concepts of evolutionary

psychology to understand human development.

Psychological mechanisms are domain-specific.

• For example, we developed sets of problem-solving skills for

recurring problems like finding food

Chromosomes

threadlike structures made up of

deoxyribonucleic acid.

DNA

a complex double-helix molecule that contains genetic

code or information.

Genes

units of hereditary information composed of D NA.

• Help cells to reproduce themselves.

• Manufacture the proteins that maintain life

methylation

Tiny molecules attach themselves to the outside of a gene,

making the gene less capable of receiving and responding to

biochemical signals from the body.

• Stress, exercise, nutrition, radiation, temperature, and lack of

sleep can negatively influence gene expression

Mitosis

the cellular reproduction in which the cell’s nucleus

duplicates itself into two new cells.

• Each contains the same DNA as the original cell

Meiosis

cell division forming eggs and sperm (or gametes).

Fertilization

the reproductive stage when egg and sperm fuse to

create a zygote.

Zygote

a single cell, formed through fertilization, in which 23

unpaired chromosomes from the egg and 23 unpaired

chromosomes from the sperm combine.

Mutated gene

a permanently altered segment of D NA

Susceptibility genes

genes that make the individual more

vulnerable to specific diseases or accelerated aging.

Longevity genes

genes that make the individual less vulnerable

to certain diseases and more likely to live to an older age.

Genotype

a person’s genetic material

Phenotype

how an individual’s genotype is expressed in

observable and measurable physical and psychological

characteristics.

Genetic imprinting

Genetic imprinting occurs when the expression of a gene has

different effects depending on whether the gene is passed on by

mother or father.

• A chemical process prevents one member of the gene pair from

expressing itself.

Imprinting is normal but can go awry, disturbing development and

leading to growth disorders or cancer

Polygenic inheritance

Many different genes interacting, plus environmental influences,

determine a characteristic or developing disease.

Gene-gene interaction

studies focusing on the interdependence of

two or more genes in influencing characteristics, behavior,

diseases, and development.

Down Syndrome

a form of an intellectual disability caused by the

presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21.

• Can cause intellectual and physical issues

treatment: Surgery, early

intervention, infant

stimulation, and special

learning programs.

Chromosomal Abnormalities

known as sex-linked involve the

presence of an extra X or Y chromosome or the absence of one X

chromosome in females.

Klinefelter Syndrome

a sex-linked chromosomal disorder in

which males have an extra X chromosome, making them XXY

instead of XY.

• Characteristics are underdeveloped testes, enlarged breasts,

and becoming tall.

treatment: Hormone therapy can be

effective.

Fragile X syndrome

a sex-linked disorder involving an

abnormality in the X chromosome, which becomes constricted and

often breaks.

• Can cause intellectual disability, learning disability, or short

attention span

treatment: Special education,

speech and language

therapy.

Turner Syndrome XO

a sex-linked disorder in females in which either

an X chromosome is missing or the second X chromosome is

partially deleted.

• Can cause intellectual disability and sexual underdevelopment.

treatment: Hormone therapy in

childhood and puberty.

XYY Syndrome

a sex-linked disorder in which males have an

extra Y chromosome.

• Can cause above-average height.

no special treatment required

Phenylketonuria PKU

a genetic disorder in which an individual

cannot properly metabolize an amino acid called phenylalanine.

• If left untreated, it results in intellectual disability and

hyperactivity

Sickle-cell Anemia

a genetic disorder that affects the red blood

cells and occurs most often in people of African descent.

• Red blood cells become hook-shaped and cannot carry

oxygen properly.

Gene-linked Abnormalities

produced by harmful genes

Behavior Genetics

the field that seeks to discover the influence

of heredity and environment on individual differences in human

traits, development, and behavior.

Twin study

the behavioral similarity of identical twins is compared

with the behavioral similarity of fraternal twins.

Adoption study

seeks to discover whether behavioral and

psychological characteristics of adopted children are more like

those of their adoptive parents or biological parents.

• Adoptive parents provided the home environment.

• Biological parents contributed their heredity.

Passive genotype-environment correlations

occur because

biological parents provide a rearing environment for the child

Evocative genotype-environment correlations

occur

because a child’s genetically influenced characteristics elicit

certain types of environments.

Active (niche-picking) genotype-environment correlations

occur when children seek out environments that they find

compatible and stimulating and suited for their genetically

influenced abilities

Epigenetic View

development is the result of an ongoing,

bidirectional interchange between heredity and environment

Gene x Environment interaction

the interaction of a

specific measured variation in the D NA and a specific measured

aspect of the environment.

• The epigenetic mechanisms involve the actual molecular

modification of the DNA strand as a result of environmental

inputs in ways that alter gene functioning.

Embryonic Period

prenatal development occurs two to

eight weeks after conception.

The rate of cell differentiation intensifies, and the mass of cells is

now called embryo.

• Three layers of cells: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm

(inner, middle, and outer layers).

Life-support systems for the embryo form, and organs appear.

Amnion

a sac that contains a clear fluid in which the

developing embryo floats.

Umbilical cord

contains two arteries and one vein and

connects the baby to the placenta.

Placenta

a disk-shaped group of tissues in which small blood

vessels from the mother and the fetus intertwine but do not join.

Organogenesis

organ formation that takes place during the

first two months of prenatal development.

Fetal period

lasts about seven months, from between two

months after conception and birth.

• At birth, the average American baby weighs 8 pounds and is

about 20 inches long.

• Prenatal development is also commonly divided into three equal

periods of three months, called trimesters. These are not the

same as the germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods

Conception to 4 weeks

Is less than 1/10 inch long.

• Beginning development of spinal cord, nervous system,

gastrointestinal system, heart, and lungs.

• Amniotic sac envelops the preliminary tissues of entire body.

• Is called a “zygote.”

1st trimester

8 weeks pregnant

Is just over 1 inch long.

• Face is forming with rudimentary eyes, ears, mouth, and tooth buds.

• Arms and legs are moving.

• Brain is forming.

• Fetal heartbeat is detectable with ultrasound.

• Is called an “embryo.”

1st trimester

12 weeks pregnant

Is about 3 inches long and weighs about 1 ounce.

• Can move arms, legs, fingers, and toes.

• Fingerprints are present.

• Can smile, frown, suck, and swallow.

• Sex is distinguishable.

• Can urinate.

• Is called a “fetus.”

1st trimester

16 weeks

Is about 6 inches long and weighs about 4 to 7 ounces.

• Heartbeat is strong.

• Skin is thin, transparent.

• Downy hair (lanugo) covers body.

• Fingernails and toenails are forming.

• Has coordinated movements; is able to roll over in amniotic fluid

20 weeks

Is about 12 inches long and weighs close to 1 pound.

• Heartbeat is audible with ordinary stethoscope.

• Sucks thumb.

• Hiccups.

• Hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows are present.

24 weeks

Is about 14 inches long and weighs 1 to 1½ pounds.

• Skin is wrinkled and covered with protective coating (vernix caseosa).

• Eyes are open.

• Waste matter is collected in bowel.

• Has strong grip.

28 weeks

Is about 16 inches long and weighs about 3 pounds.

• Is adding body fat.

• Is very active.

• Rudimentary breathing movements are present.

32 weeks

Is 16½ to 18 inches long and weighs 4 to 5 pounds.

• Has periods of sleep and wakefulness.

• Responds to sounds.

• May assume the birth position.

• Bones of head are soft and flexible.

• Iron is being stored in liver.

36-38 weeks

Is 19 to 20 inches long and weighs 6 to 7½ pounds.

• Skin is less wrinkled.

• Vernix caseosa is thick.

• Lanugo is mostly gone.

• Is less active.

• Is gaining immunities from mother

Prenatal brain development

Babies are born with 20 to 100 billion neurons

Four important phases of the brain’s development in the prenatal

period involve:

• the neural tube;

• neurogenesis;

• neuronal migration; and

• neural connectivity.

Neurons

—the nerve cells in

the brain that handle information processing at the cellular level.

18-24 days after conception

The pear-shaped neural tube develops out of the ectoderm

• Two birth defects related to a failure of the neural tube to close

are anencephaly and spina bifida.

neurogenesis

massive proliferation of new immature

neurons, beginning at about week 5 and continuing through the

remainder of the prenatal period

neuronal migration

the process of cells moving outward from their

point of origin to their appropriate locations takes place between 6

and 24 weeks.

neural connectivity

at about the 23rd week, is when connections

between neurons begin to occur